Jocelyn B. Smith | We sing black tide | For South Sudan | Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche | 30.09.2019

Sing along for clean water! On September 30th 2019 at 8 pm the Berlin-based jazz singer Jocelyn B. Smith and the Southern Sudanese artists’ collective AnaTaban invite you to a concert “We sing black tide – singt mit und für sauberes Wasser” in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Breitscheidplatz. The lyricist of the song is the artist Terry Swartzberg, who initiated the evening together with the Konstanz human rights and aid organization Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V.. With this event, the organisation draws attention to the environmental catastrophe in Southern Sudan caused by the oil industry and advocates the human right to clean water for those affected. The evening will be supported by other musicians, soloists and various Berlin choirs. The video message of this evening will go around the world via social media.

The Southern Sudanese artist collective AnaTaban performs the song “Black Tide” together with the Berlin choirs, among others members of the choir “Different Voices of Berlin”, the Berlin Soul Choir and the Holzmarkt Choir, under the direction of the singer Jocelyn B. Smith. The song tells of the struggle of the Southern Sudanese for clean water and against oil pollution, which threatens their livelihood.

AnaTaban means “I’m tired” or “We’re tired of it.” The song “Black Tide” (> Schwarze Flut) was composed by Sebastian Oswald and staged in 2019 by the collective of South Sudanese artists. They compete with their music against war, rape, fights and hunger, which destroy their country. The video for “Black tide” by the group AnaTaban can be found on Youtube or here.

The text for “Black Tide” was written by the artist Terry Swartzberg. He is known to many above all for his Stumbling Stone Movement, with which he preserves the memory of Holocaust victims in Berlin and other cities. Like Jocelyn B. Smith, Terry comes from New York and is an “ethical campaigner” committed to various important contemporary themes. With Hoffnungszeichen e.V. Terry Swartzberg fights for a clean environment and clean water in Africa. He lives in Munich.

All those interested are cordially invited to sing along. Admission is free, please make a donation. The invitation of Hoffnungszeichen e.V. is clearly formulated: “Sing with us for the human right to clean water in Southern Sudan, in Africa and in the world! Sing with us for an end to the poisoning of our water, our politics and our lives by the oil companies! Sing with us for a world in which resources and opportunities are fairly distributed”.

Sawsan Chebli, Berlin’s State Plenipotentiary to the Federal Government and State Secretary for Citizenship and International Affairs, will open the event. Programme items of the evening are among other things the conception of the human right campaign hoping sign against the drinking water pollution by Klaus Stieglitz, second executive committee of the association, an empiric report to the situation in the south Sudan by the group AnaTaban as well as the common singing with AnaTaban and choirs from Berlin under the direction of Jocelyn B. Smith.

“We are pleased to be able to organize this concert in Berlin in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church with Pastor Martin Germer and his parish,” says Reimund Reubelt, First Chairman of Hoffnungszeichen. “For more than ten years, Hoffnungszeichen has been committed to the right to clean water in Southern Sudan. With this event in Berlin, we are sending a signal of solidarity to those affected by the oil catastrophe. We want to draw attention to the pollution of drinking water by the oil industry and at the same time persuade the polluters to act”. The organisation in Constance is calling for an end to drinking water pollution, medical treatment and access to clean water for the affected Southern Sudanese.

The Malaysian oil company and Daimler partner Petronas poisons the drinking water of numerous people in Southern Sudan through the improper extraction and processing of crude oil, according to research by the association. Around 600,000 people are affected. One of the largest swamplands in the world, the Sudd, is at risk. Signs of hope help in the construction of deep wells, in educating the people and enter into dialogue with those responsible.

The “Black Tide” concert, information and sing along evening for clean water is the prelude to a theme month with an exhibition and activities on the global topic of water.

WHEN?

Monday, 30.09.2019, 8:00 pm

WHERE?

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche, Breitscheidplatz, 10789 Berlin-Charlottenburg

COSTS?

Admission free, donation requested

Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. is a non-denominational human rights and aid organization based in Constance on Lake Constance. Guided by the values of charity, solidarity and humanity, the association has been providing humanitarian aid for people in need for more than 35 years and is committed to sustainable development projects and human rights. The focus is on central East Africa with the focus countries Ethiopia, Kenya, Southern Sudan and Uganda.

Further informations: www.forsouthsudan.com